US Elections 2024: Indian-American and Republican party politician Vivek Ramaswamy has hit out at "old man" Joe Biden and the Democratic party after the first public debate between the presidential candidates concluded on July 27.
In a series of posts on the social media site X (formerly known as Twitter), Ramaswamy, who has publicly declared support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, attacked the United States president and his party on conservative talking points — Biden's age and apparent "spacing out" and disconnected ramblings mid-speech at events.
"The game is now more obvious than ever: the Democrat Party served up an old man as their sacrificial lamb tonight," Ramaswamy posted, following it up with: “They didn’t drug up Biden. They lobotomized him instead.”
"They should use the commercial break to swap in the real Democratic nominee," he went on to jibe. Ramaswamy also criticised Biden's debate performance, posting: "The only time Biden came remotely close to life in the debate is when he’s talking about Trump’s conviction and J6. Turns out he doesn’t give a damn about the things Americans actually care about."
Ramaswamy, 38, was born in Ohio to immigrant parents from southern India. He is a multimillionaire former biotech executive. His parents raised him a Hindu, and he attended a Roman Catholic high school. He earned a biology degree at Harvard University before attending Yale Law School.
When Ramaswamy declared for president in February, he was a long shot. After dropping out of the race, he has been a fierce defender of Trump while seeking to appeal to Christian evangelicals, an important part of the Republican primary electorate.
Although a Hindu, Ramaswamy has been telling voters that the US is based on "Christian values" and "Judeo-Christian values" and has described himself as an American nationalist.
Biden and Trump faced off in their first debate on July 27 in Atlanta, hosted by CNN.
Their unpopular rematch in a live televised, no-audience debate saw a raspy-voiced Biden begin by confronting Trump even as his rival attacked the economy and "leaned into falsehoods" on illegal immigration and the Jan 6 Capitol insurrection, AP reported.
There are widespread concerns that 81-year-old Biden is "too old" to be president, as he seemed to lose his train of thought during the debate, while 78-year-old Trump attempted to dodge acknowledgement of his felony conviction in New York amid fears about his "bombast" style of office, it added.
The debate broadcast on CNN, moderated by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, marked the earliest general election debate in history. It’s the first-ever televised general election presidential debate hosted by a single news outlet after both campaigns ditched the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which had organized every matchup since 1988.
Aiming to avoid a repeat of their chaotic 2020 matchups, Biden insisted — and Trump agreed — to hold the debate without an audience and to allow the network to mute the candidates’ microphones when it is not their turn to speak. The debate's two commercial breaks offered another departure from modern practice, while the candidates have agreed not to consult staff or others while the cameras are off.
Trump and his aides have spent months chronicling what they argue are signs of Biden’s diminished stamina. In recent days, they’ve started to predict Biden will be stronger on Thursday, aiming to raise expectations for the incumbent.
(With inputs from Agencies)
